The AYLUS Dix Hills members work with Audubon to remove invasive species for Earth Day. Volunteers gathered around to remove grasses and their roots by hand or using tools such as rakes.
The grassy type weed has onion type bulbs that need to be pulled out completely, to avoid regrowth. It is imperative to remove these species as they are invasive, meaning they overpower other native species for natural resources to survive and grow rapidly, which was very evident as there was a massive amount of the weeds in comparison to ferns. The ferns and other native plants were not removed, as they are native species.
We were able to clear out a large area of land that had these weeds, amassing a lot of onion bulbs roots. By using tools such as rakes and shovels, we were able to target the removal of the roots more efficiently. For all the roots that weren’t able to be removed, they were covered with wood chips alongside the rest of the land. The wood chips are used to target the disintegration of the rest of the bulbs, and aid in the suppression of these weeds to prevent them from growing rapidly in the future.
Since today is Earth day, people around the world celebrate the efforts taken by people to protect the environment. By participating in this event, AYLUS Dix Hills is glad to contribute their efforts to the well-being of the ecosystem and environment around them on Earth Day.
Volunteers: Sara Kong (3 hours), Ru Xue Jiang (2.5 hours), Kevin Lyu (2.5 hours), Ivan Wu (2.5 hours), Ming Chen (2.5 hours)
